Welcome to the Science of Sport where we bring you the second, third, and fourth level of analysis you will not find anywhere else.
Be it doping in sport, hot topics like Caster Semenya or Oscar Pistorius, or the dehydration myth, we try to translate the science behind sports and sports performance. Consider a donation if you like what you see here!
Running Physiology // Posts categorised as Running Physiology
The aging of elite performance: “Geriatric champions” and have the rules for getting older changed?
Yesterday, I was sent this link. It says that Dwain Chambers, he of THG and a doping ban in 2004 (!), is making a comeback, hoping to qualify for Team GB at the European Indoor Championships. At the age of 40. Well, almost 41. My first thought was “Of course he is”, and then upon […]
The pursuit of the sub-2 marathon: Where to next?
Where do we go next? Now that Eliud Kipchoge has taken us to the brink of a sub-2 hour marathon, have the boundaries of human endurance been recalibrated? Can we expect a 1:59 soon? Or did the Nike staged event simply move some of the boundaries aside? This piece looks at potential benefits, and asks whether we should expect to see a speeding up, or a slowing down, in the foreseeable future?
Eliud Kipchoge 2:00:25
Eliud Kipchoge has run a marathon in 2:00:25, coming within sight of breaking the 2-hour barrier. How did he do it, and what might we expect in future? This post analyzes the splits, the tactics and the prospects for the 1:59:59 in the future.
The sub-2 hour marathon attempt: The pacing strategy
The Nike-Breaking 2 attempt will happen in Monza this weekend. I don't think a sub-2 is possible, but what will be fascinating is to see a) how they go about pacing the attempt, and what happens if it starts to fall away; and b) what the collective advantage is of all the tactics employed. I predict 2:01:55 at best, a DNF is also a real possibility. More thoughts here.
Ban the Nike Vaporfly & other carbon fiber devices for future performance credibility
Nike recently unveiled the Vaporfly Elite, the shoe it has been working on to help it break the 2-hour marathon barrier. The shoe incorporates a "spring plate", and is claimed to have significant performance implications. I think the shoe, and the incorporation of spring-like devices in all shoes, should be banned for future credibility of performance. Here's why
The “2-hour marathon” season begins
Kenenisa Bekele kicks off the 2017 Marathon season in Dubai, with what is a potential world record. It's the year of the "Breaking-2" after Nike's announcement last December. This article is an expanded version of one I wrote for an SA Newspaper on Jan 15th, 2017
The sub-2 hour marathon in 2017? Thoughts on concept
Nike's announcement that they're backing three top marathoners to break the 2 hour marathon barrier in Spring 2017, is the latest installment in the sub-2 hype. Relevance and legitimacy aside, what would it take, product and course wise, to achieve? I look at shoes and downhill running to illustrate the concept of physiological barriers and how they might be shifted.
2016 publications: From the armchair to the site, via these journals
Much of what you read here on this site is my attempt to translate the research I'm interested in, and which can be applied to the real world, in a way that makes it more "palatable" to you. This post, however, summarizes some of the "source" research, the scientific articles that I've had published in the last 12 months, for those wanting to see the academic side of the discussions we have.
“177” – The Sub-2 hour marathon and East Africa’s super-runners
Marathon running is in a golden era, the 2-hour barrier approaching. Kenyans in particular have led the charge, raising some of the most fascinating physiological questions of the era. This presentation describes the history, physiology, and implications for the 2-hour marathon.